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Friday, May 24, 2013

Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel) and
Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) are set for life.The Rio de Janeiro heist has afforded them a
very early retirement.They plan to live
out the rest of their days in comfortable anonymity, while the rest of their
crew live it up abroad.Diplomatic
Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) descends on this
new found paradise like a dark cloud.However,
brings a tempting propostion to Dominic.International heist master Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and team of
specialists have pulled off one brazen and elaborate heist after another.They are gearing up for their biggest job
yet.Hobbs desperately needs to stop
them.In exchange for Dominic’s help,
Hobbs offers him the one thing money can’t buy.With full tanks full of gasoline and nitrous oxide at the ready, Dom and
company rev their engines for another mission.

Fast & Furious 6 is, obviously, the sixth entry in the twelve
year old franchise.Director Justin Lin
has returned to the mechanics table for a fourth and final helping.The main cast has likewise returned, though maybe
not for the last time.The requisite
levels of action have been adequately ramped up.The stunts are bigger, and the feeling of
escalation remains perpetual.However,
where does Fast 6 rank among its predecessors?Will it take first place?

The Fast & Furious series was inspired by a Vibe magazine article about street racing.In keeping with that sentiment, the films
have always been about two things: Fabulous cars engaged in breathless car
chases.Note that subtlety and
complexity don’t factor into that equation.Boys and their toys take precedence all else.That aesthetic has gone through a number of
variations over the years.Justin Lin
and cinematographer Stephen F. Windon have developed a definitive formula.They also reveal a bit of dexterity as to how
they apply it.Fast 5 reveled in the candy colored, sun blocked gloss of Rio de
Janeiro.Fast 6 is a veritable Black ops
mission by comparison.Many scenes take
place under the cover of night.

To say that Fast 6 keeps the action coming is an understatement.Under Justin Lin’s watch, the series has become
a traveling vehicular circus that continues to top itself with every visit.The set pieces are impenetrably complex, to
the point of organized chaos.The
finale, which takes place on a military base runway, is ballsy in its
conception.Yet, for all the fireworks
on display, Fast 6 feels slightly
smaller in scope than Fast 5.That could be due raucous party atmosphere of
the latter.It could also be due to the
execution of certain set pieces.Justin
Lin makes a number of concessions to “chaos cinema.” However, during the
aforementioned finale, the seams begin to show.The nighttime setting renders it somewhat incoherent.Still, there are some very nice touches.The Rock gets to use some vintage WWE moves
that will have fans cheering in the isles.

The continuity (And I use that
term loosely) of the franchise became an absolute joke with the lackluster fourth
entry.That’s never been much of a
problem, as the series’ lack of pretense has always been its saving grace.However, that quality has been gradually
diminishing since Justin Lin came on board.One of his many contributions has been to turn the series into a soap
opera.This time, for some as yet
undisclosed reason, he and screenwriter Chris Morgan want the audience to take
all of the melodrama seriously. Though Letty’s
(Michelle Rodriguez) amnesic subplot is utterly ridiculous, the theme of
duality is interesting.The members of Shaw’s
crew serve as doppelgängers for those in Dominic’s crew.The leaders are both family men to varying
degrees.That conflict is far more
compelling than anything going on with Letty. Still,
a good portion of the second act is devoted to her and Dominic.That distracts from the film’s main selling
points: Cars and action.

The characters remain as likeable
as ever.As Always, Dwayne Johnson is
simply begging for his very own action franchise.With a pair of amazingly vascular,
mountainous biceps and a neck like an oak tree, he’s a melanin coated Übermensch.It’s as if someone sprinkled fairy dust on an
Ed McGuiness drawing.Someday, this guy
will take his rightful place alongside Stallone and Schwarzenegger.He’s got far superior acting chops than
either of those guys.

As Dominic famously said in the
original film, “Ask any racer, any real racer. It doesn't matter if you win by
an inch or a mile; winning's winning.” Fast
6 achieves a photo finish alongside its immediate predecessor, but misses
by just a hair.A hard won silver medal
is definitely nothing to sneeze at.If nothing
else, Fast 6 has confirmed something
I realized at the end of Fast 5: This
series has been the most dependable of its kind for over a decade now.That being said, Justin Lin has the right
idea.Better to put the Ferrari back in
the garage while there’s still gas in the tank.Racing on fumes is a death sentence.

About Me

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Scott Wilson, deep thinker and blogger extraordinaire. I'm also a published author and proud father. Last but certainly not least, I'm a single (IE Available), but I'm definitely looking to change that. My life is an ongoing work in progress, and I'm always looking to improve.